February 2025

This month we feature the poetry of local poet Judy Dykstra-Brown. Judy Dykstra-Brown moved to San Juan Cosala in 2001. The Tennessee Writers Alliance National Poetry Award’s first place winner in 2002, for the past nine years, she has published a minimum of one poem a day on her blog at https://judydykstrabrown.com/ Her books include […]

Ann Whiting started the Mexican National Chili Cookoff in 1978, and I first flew down from Dallas, TX in February of 1997 to compete with the elite cooks from all over the United States. That year it was held in the Ajijic Soccer Field, adjacent to the Wednesday Market. Twenty cooks competed on Friday, February

Edward Duffy was a man of habit. Ed worked at the old Chicago Public Library. Ed traveled in and out of the city by way of train. For twenty years now, he would rise early. Then after a full day of work he would return to the station and arrive back in Harvard where he

When I was ten years old my mother announced that she and I were going to California to visit cousins. We lived on a prairie farm in Manitoba and the farthest I’d ever travelled was to Winnipeg, thirty miles north on Highway 75. My parents never took vacations so how this came about was a

By Mark Sconce John F. Kenney’s entreaty, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country,” inspired a generation of young idealists determined to represent America abroad through volunteer service. One of these was the author, Mark Sconce, who joined the Peace Corps, the world service

I first discovered the power of an electric shock when I installed a heat lamp above an old metal shower stall in my basement. I turned off the power that led to the new junction box, except for one live line I didn’t know about. To be safe, I used a small wooden ladder. I

My first home in Mexico was in the city of Mazatlán. We wintered there from 2003 until 2014, when we decided to move to a more favorable climate for year-round living – Lake Chapala. My winters in Mazatlán were spent not only enjoying this stunningly beautiful “pearl of the Pacific,” but also by volunteering with

A Love Affair With Nature As the new year begins, we suddenly find ourselves in February. Traditionally a time to express love, appreciation and to celebrate connections that bring us joy, this year powerful expressions were shared with me, and I would like to share them with you. From my niece Vicki in Sacramento, CA: When

Cats and dogs do their own DIY self-grooming. Although dogs don’t groom themselves as extensively as cats do, self-bathing and grooming is still normal behavior for dogs. Dogs utilize several methods of self-cleaning that may not seem effective to humans. One familiar action is the extremely forceful full-body shake, usually performed by wet or muddy dogs.

In my mid life a cluster of friends and relatives died, and I found I had never felt so fascinated by life and the possibilities for introspection, demands for it even, as the light flooded in through the existential crack. I began to wonder if a change in career was the right path for me.